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Essential oils have a recorded history of several millennia. Numerous accounts from Genesis to Revelation report many different uses of essential oils. The art of distilling was known throughout antiquity with many peoples. Aromatic fragrances were traded all around the mediterranean and as far as to India and China eastward. Also, the queen of Sheba used them in East Africa.
Applied in anointing, healing, as parfumes and invigorating scents, as well as for embalming, these active distilled lifeblood of hundreds of plants were widely appreciated and also valuable treasures.
Upon the lavish overuse of oils by the Romans, the art of distilling essential oils was forgotten all through the dark ages. A new rediscovery about 200 years ago gave essential oils a new beginning in Europe in modern times.
Today, the essential oils have become a huge industry, mainly being consumed by the food and perfume industries. Only less than a tenth of the whole distilled fragrances of plants find their way into anointing, aroma therapy, and healing.
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